Those opening jungle bongos hitting over ambient rain is still one of the most iconic sounds on the SNES. David Wise's Donkey Kong Country score basically rewrote what people thought 16-bit hardware could do. Water Music remains almost impossibly serene, this patient, crystalline piece that makes you want to stay underwater forever.
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The Caves goes dark and echoey with these deep, reverbed percussion hits. The Snow Level layers delicate piano over a gentle pulse that perfectly captures cold air. Even the Funky Kong Page theme has swagger for days. Every track sounds like it's pushing the SPC700 chip past its limits.
If you somehow haven't sat with this one properly, tonight's the night.